Peppe the Lamplighter

This was quite a heavy read for a children's picture book. The illustrations by Ted Lewin were unbelievably striking and captured the tone of the story in a way I haven't seen before. Truly remarkable! We follow the story of a young Peppe, who has just recently taken a job as a lamplighter to support his immigrant family in New York City. Peppe takes pride in the work he's doing and feels proud to provide for his family after his mother's passing and now that his father has fallen ill. His Papa doesn't share his prideful sentiment, in fact, he feels as though this job is below Peppe and not what he imaged his son's future aspirations would have become. This is a book that paints a picture of what life must have been like for those turn show more of the century immigrants who journeyed to New York City in search of the American Dream, and unfortunately, that picture isn't always bright. show less

The son of Italian immigrants, Peppe strives to support his family and gain his Papa’s approval by working as a lamplighter. Set in New York’s Little Italy, Peppe The Lamplighter’s murky and moody watercolor illustrations by Ted Lewin depict the hustle and bustle of 19th century urban life. Disappointingly, Elisa Bartone’s story is more murky than its illustrations; as historical fiction, Peppe The Lamplighter does not provide the reader the social and cultural context necessary to understand the motivation of Papa’s disapproval of his son’s work. In the eyes of an Italian immigrant, what was shameful about work as lamplighter? How does Papa’s unnamed illness play into the dishonor he feels for his young son having to show more work? With so many daughters, some young adults, why do they not also work to help the family? Papa’s miraculous change of heart seems contrived for a man who was screaming out the window, “You’ll belong to the streets.” All in all, this reader can not endorse this picture book’s hackneyed chronicle of immigrant life, particularly when it depicts a father’s emotional abuse of a son. show less

My heart goes out to Peppe! He is so committed to finding any job to support his family of nine. When he finds a job lighting lamps, his father unkindly makes him feel that this is hardly a job he can be proud of. His wishes as he lights each lamp shows us what a generous and big-hearted person he is. When finally he gets discouraged by his father's words, and stays home one day, Little Italy is in darkness and utter chaos. When he ventures out to light the lamps at his father's request, he finds his lost sister and finally wins praise from his father.
The watercolor illustrations give us a feel of Little Italy in the time when there was no electricity. It takes us back to the people and street life of those ages.
A touching story with a show more relatable theme: how we often strive to seek praise from people who have very high expectations of us and are not satisfied with the approval of others around us. show less

Peppe lives in Little Italy in New York, at a time when streetlamp still needed to be lit by hand. Despite his father's disapproval, Peppe got a job as a lamplighter. One night Peppe is discouraged and decides not to light the lamps. Without the lights to guide her home, Peppe’s sister is lost. He saves his sister and wins the respect of his father. The illustrations in this story are absolutely incredible. Realistic and striking.

This a beautiful story that shows the values Italian immigrants had when they came to America. Peppe’s father wants the best for his children, therefore he does not view his son, who is a lamplighter, as a worthy job. His father even says “Did I come to America for my son to light the street lamps?” One of the other things I liked about this book was the authenticity I felt when reading it. The illustrations aided in this a lot because the artist did an amazing job at making everything appear life like. Each illustrations fills the entire two page spread and depicts what Little Italy in New York looked like in the early 1900’s. In one of the illustrations you can see many people at the street farmers market. These people are show more dressed very nice with men wearing suits and hats and women wearing floor length skirts and dresses with aprons. I could easily tell what time period this book is set in just by looking at the illustrations. Another thing I like about this book is that even though the dialogue does not reflect and Italian accent, the author still included Peppe’s father speaking Italian. In this part of the story, the father says “Dov’ e mia bambina?” which means no matter how big his little sister got, she will still be his baby. This also aided in the authenticity of the book and allowed me to learn some Italian as well! The big idea of this story is that even the littlest things done can make a big difference on everyone. This can be seen when Peppe decides not to light the lamps one night and because of that, his little sister gets too scared to come home and walk in the dark. Although this book is set in the 1900’s, the message of this story can be applied today. For example, many people do not think the lunch ladies in schools have a significant job, however they are the people that prepare and feed your children. Without them, students would not have food for lunch! show less

The illustrations are stunning. Peppe has 8 sisters, a sick father, and his mother is dead. He looks for work to help his family and finally finds a job lighting street lamps at night. His father is ashamed that he is working in the streets and slowly drains Peppe's confidence. Then one night he decides not to light the lamps and, alas, his sister doesn't come home. So, his father changes his mind and pep talks him to go keep working.
I think the father character is complicated-would love to hear the opinion of children. Themes of responsibility, family, and dignity in all work.

Summary:
Peppe the Lamplighter is about a boy named Peppe who needed to work to support his sisters. He looked around town for jobs, but every place he went to turned him down. Finally, Domenico, the lamplighter, asked Peppe to take his place while he’s gone to Italy to get his wife. Peppe and his sisters were happy, but his father was not. One night, when Peppe refused to light the lamps due to his father’s constant criticism, one of his sisters went missing. After gaining his father’s approval, Peppe lit each of the lamps, finding his sister at the last lamp to be lit.

Personal Reaction:
This book’s illustrations were beautifully done. I love how detailed they were and how they acted as an extension of the text. I also love how show more Peppe lit each lamp in dedication to one of his family members as a promise for a better tomorrow.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1.) Have the students imagine they were in Peppe’s position and discuss who they would dedicate each lamp to. What would they hope for each person?
2.) Have the students discuss what jobs they would be interested in if they were in Peppe’s position. show less